The LG Twins have solidified their grip on first place after defeating the Kia Tigers 6-2 at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 23rd.

With the win, LG maintained a 5.5-game lead over the Hanwha Eagles and extended their impressive run this month, notching 14 victories, 3 losses, and 1 draw in 18 games played so far in August.

LG set the tone early thanks to Moon Seong-ju, who launched a two-run home run over the right-field wall off Kia’s starting pitcher James Naile in the first inning.

The lead widened in the second inning as Park Dong-won and Chun Seong-ho delivered consecutive hits, pushing the score to 3-0.

The game-defining moment came in the fifth inning. With one out and a runner on second, Kia third baseman Patrick Wisdom committed a throwing error on a grounder by Shin Min-jae, allowing Choi Won-young to score from second base. Moon Seong-ju then added an infield single, followed by consecutive hits from Austin Dean and Moon Bo-gyeong. LG racked up three more runs in the inning to extend the lead to 6-0.

Kia Tigers attempted to rally, scoring a run each in the fifth and sixth innings, but ultimately fell short of closing the gap.

Starter Im Chan-gyu pitched 5.2 innings for LG despite giving up seven hits and four walks; he struck out three and limited Kia to just two runs, securing his 11th win of the season.

Moon Seong-ju led LG’s offense with two hits and two RBIs in four at-bats, including his second home run of the season.

Conversely, Kia starting pitcher James Naile struggled through five innings, yielding eight hits and six runs (four earned). Kia fell to their fourth consecutive loss, and their recent slump continued with just one win and seven losses over the past eight games.

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=Yonhap News Agency, LG Twins Official SNS